Table of contents for 657 in Computeractive

I remember being terrified as a kid by this scene from the 1933 masterpiece The Invisible Man: www.snipca.com/45834. The special effects remain unsettling 90 years on, while the maniacal laughter still chills the soul. Almost as scary are the tricks websites play to grab your data as you browse the web. Robert Irvine reveals these in his Cover Feature, where he explains that you don’t have to drink a noxious potion to become invisible online, let alone bandage your face then try to balance a pair of sunglasses on it. As he points out, there are lots of new tools that provide more effective ways to stay anonymous on the internet. Use the programs, VPNs and browsers he recommends and you’ll shield yourself from the most aggressive tactics devised by…

Electronic Arts (EA) has finally refunded reader Naomi Ward for the trouble she experienced when her son was banned from playing the game FIFA 2023, but we can’t tell you how much she received. It told Naomi that it would refund her as a goodwill gesture, but asked her not to make the amount public. We don’t want to jeopardise the refund, so we won’t investigate further. But we do dispute its definition of a goodwill gesture because it suggests the company is blameless. In one of 2022’s most intriguing cases, EA accused Naomi’s son of cheating, and told the game-streaming service Steam to ban him from playing the game. It then admitted it had made a mistake, but Naomi had already spent £500 on a physical copy of the…

AUDIO EDITOR Audacity 3.3 www.snipca.com/45848 What you need: Windows 10 or 11, macOS or Linux Audacity celebrates its 23rd birthday on 28 May, but the popular audio editor certainly isn’t showing its age. Although version 3.3 isn’t as radical an update as 3.2 (see Issue 642, page 18), which introduced the new Audio.com audio-sharing service, it offers plenty of new tools to enhance your recordings and simplify the editing process. The most notable change is that several of Audacity’s built-in effects are now ‘real-time capable’. This means you can apply the effects to your audio files as you listen to them, rather than having to add an effect, tweak its settings then ‘render’ it to hear the result. Real-time effects are also applied without overwriting the original audio. To try…

SOFTWARE WARNING! Microsoft ‘ignores’ Firefox flaw for five years There was a time when we wouldn’t have trusted Microsoft Defender to guard 50p in a savings account, let alone everything stored on our PC. But Microsoft has improved it greatly in the past few years, and it now offers powerful protection (even if it still lacks the advanced tools of suites like Norton). However, we can’t help wondering whether Microsoft is using Defender as a weapon in a war against smaller tech rivals. Back in 2018, Firefox’s developers Mozilla told Microsoft that Defender was severely slowing the browser and using up processor resources. It kindly requested a solution (see www.snipca.com/45715), but Microsoft wasn’t about to be rushed into anything. In fact it waited and waited, prompting some accusations that Microsoft…

PC MONITOR | £405 from Iiyama www.snipca.com/45756 There was a time when the quality of VA panels were visibly poorer than IPS screens, with a yellow hue that made whites look less pure in programs like Word and Excel. That’s no longer true. Unless you test these panels with a colorimeter, few people would distinguish the difference between the best examples that these technologies can offer. This is particularly true with more expensive monitors such as this huge £405 34in curved offering from Iiyama. There are three obvious benefits to VA panels. First, they are more easily shaped than IPS, which is why Iiyama can create this screen with a 1500R curve. The second is contrast, with Iiyama claiming a typical 3,000:1 ratio (IPS tends to be around 1,000:1). Our…

MOUSE | £95 from HyperX www.snipca.com/45735 This mouse is aimed at gamers, though non-gamers should also consider it. At £95 (direct from HyperX), however, it’s not cheap. So what are you getting for the money? The first thing you’ll notice is how light it is, weighing only 61g. In use, it has a 1,000Hz polling rate, and in our tests we found it to be quick and accurate. Its switches are designed to last 100 million clicks, so it should be good for years to come. If you’re left-handed (or share your PC with someone who is), you’ll appreciate the symmetrical design, even though left-handers won’t get the most out of the thumb buttons. Otherwise, the palm rest bump was perfectly shaped for our grip, meaning our hands lined up…

ANDROID & iOS Save ‘disappearing’ messages in WhatsApp chats One of WhatsApp’s most useful privacy features is the ability to switch on ‘Disappearing messages’, which deletes messages from a chat automatically after 24 hours, one week or 90 days. The downside is that you may lose messages that contain important information, so WhatsApp has introduced a new option that lets you keep specific content for future reference. To save a message in a ‘Disappearing messages’ chat, long-press it and tap the new Bookmark icon at the top of the screen (see screenshot below right). If the message was sent by someone else (rather than you), they’ll be notified you’ve kept it and can stop this happening by pressing the down-arrow icon on the message and choosing Unkeep. You can view…

Design a mug with your club’s logo Mugs featuring your club logo are a simple way to make members feel like they belong to something special. Designing them is easy using the superb online tool Canva, which we’ve recommended several times before, including in Issue 592 (to make membership cards) and Issue 647 (to create email signatures). One reason Canva is so handy is that it offers a vast collection of templates, which means a lot of the design work is already done for you. But it also makes it easy to upload your own artwork and start from scratch. Once you’ve finished, you can use Canva to order the mugs. There are several other sites that let you design and order mugs, but many of them, including Spring (www.teespring.com)…

Email us your problem and we’ll try to help: noproblem@computeractive.co.uk PROBLEM OF THE FORTNIGHT Can I salvage old printer parts? Q I have an old HP Photosmart C8180 multifunction printer, but because the heads are worn it no longer provides legible prints. So, it’s ready to be recycled, making way for a new printer. However, this device contains both a LightScribe drive and multi-slot memory card reader. Is it possible to extract these from the printer and reuse either component as a standalone unit? If it is possible, then I guess I’d need some software to use on my Windows 11 PC. Any ideas? Bryan Richards A We’re all for reusing stuff, but we think it’s a tall order. There are so many ifs, buts and maybes that we can…

Google Earth has updated its satellite imagery for the Ukrainian city of Mariupol to show the destruction caused by the Russian invasion. Previous images of the city were mostly dated as 2021, before the war began. The images show rows of flattened homes, as well as wrecked shopping centres and many other ruined public buildings. Russia laid siege to the city from 24 February to 20 May 2022, when surviving Ukrainian troops surrendered. The changes were noticed by many people on social media, who posted images of areas before and after the invasion to highlight the destruction (pictured). To see the images, visit https://earth.google.com then search for ‘Mariupol’ at the top left and click the result that appears. If you type the coordinates 47.0927615 37.5526896 into the search bar and…

The number of households on social-tariff broadband has increased from 136,000 to 220,000, but this still represents just 5.1 per cent of eligible homes, Ofcom says. It welcomed the increase, but said the “low take-up figures demonstrate that more needs to be done to ensure those most in need are aware of the support available”. Social tariffs are discounted broadband packages available to customers who receive Universal Credit or Pension Credit. Ofcom estimates that households could save around £200 a year by signing up. Prices start at £12 a month, and are guaranteed not to increase during the contract. Speeds vary, with Virgin Media’s Essential Broadband providing 15Mbps, while BT’s packages range from 36Mbps to 67Mbps. Public awareness of social tariffs is increasing, Ofcom said. Almost half of eligible households…

Tom Norman makes a spirited defence of Chromebooks in Issue 656’s Letters, but what he fails to mention is that ChromeOS works best if you’re a fan of Google’s online suite of tools, such as Google Drive and Gmail. I much prefer Microsoft’s online services: OneDrive, Outlook.com, the online versions of Excel, Word and so on. Microsoft has tried to build a lightweight operating system a few times, most famously with Windows 10X (pictured). It’s never succeeded though, which has left the market open for Google to dominate. But having used a few Chromebooks, I remain underwhelmed. I’m convinced Microsoft would do a better job of creating a simplified system geared towards online-only tools. As a fan of Surface Pro laptop-tablets, I also think Microsoft would make better devices for…

Disk Drill Pro www.snipca.com/45850 Price: £88 Free trial: N/A What you need: Windows 10 or 11, or macOS When you accidentally delete an important file from your computer – or it mysteriously disappears – a data-recovery program can prove a life-saver. Disk Drill is one of the most respected options, but the steep cost of its Pro version may make you wonder what price you put on your data. Although there’s no free trial, Disk Drill’s Basic edition lets you recover up to 500MB of data for free, which may be enough, depending on what you’ve lost. Simply select a drive – this can be a removable device such as a USB stick – and click the ‘Search for lost data’ button (1 in our screenshot). You can run a Deep…

MINI PC | £1,007 from Dell www.snipca.com/45704 Dell OptiPlex 7000 Micro Tower of strength We’ve seen a lot of mini PCs recently that have a similar design to Intel’s compact NUC series, which measure 36x135x115mm (HxWxD). The Dell OptiPlex 7000 Micro is larger, measuring 36x182x178mm. This means it’s around the same height if you keep it flat on your desk, but it has a larger footprint. However, it’s still a long way from eating into the kind of space that a standard desktop PC does, and can also be positioned in an upright tower-style (as pictured). Dell refers to these PCs as “Micro Form Factor”. Most of the OptiPlex 7000 Micro’s ports are on the back panel (pictured below), including three DisplayPorts, three USB 3.0, one Ethernet socket and a…

PHONE | From £799 from Motorola www.snipca.com/45802 Over the years, Motorola has built a reputation for producing decent budget Android phones. While it still releases low-price models, its Chinese owner Lenovo has expanded the company’s range into more expensive devices. As you can probably guess from the £799 price tag, the Edge 40 Pro is an attempt to win over consumers who might otherwise be looking for a Google Pixel 7 Pro or Samsung Galaxy S23. The first thing you’ll notice about the Edge 40 Pro are its rounded edges. These have fallen out of fashion lately, but they make it a pleasure to hold. The curved drop-off around the edge of the screen is subtler than the one on Google’s Pixel phones, providing a classier look and feel. The…

Q I recently upgraded to Windows 10, but the Corel WinDVD Pro 11 software that I used to play Blu-ray discs no longer works. Corel told me they no longer support this product. An upgrade to an OEM version of its WinDVD Pro 12 costs about £35, while the full boxed version is about £60, which is a lot of money. The free versions I tried from the Microsoft Store don’t seem to be any good. Do you know of a good free or cheaper Blu-ray player that will work with Windows 10? Paul Vismeg A The best free video software that works in Windows 10 is VLC (www.videolan.org), but getting it to play Blu-ray discs requires plug-ins – see instructions at www.snipca.com/45762. If you prefer a free player that…

The C8C Outdoor Pan/Tilt Camera is EZVIZ’s first outdoor WiFi Pan/Tilt Camera, combining an exquisite design with extensive features. With 1080p high-definition video and images, it captures more details than ordinary outdoor cameras. With a 352-degree horizontal rotation and 95° vertical rotation, the C8C gives you an all-around view of your surroundings. You can see and hear what’s happening through the EZVIZ app on your phone or tablet. The AI algorithm intelligently detects the motion of human shapes in real time. When people enter your customised detection area, you will be alerted immediately. There are three night vision modes available to provide protection in all circumstances. And its weatherproof design keeps it operating without being interrupted by wind, rain or snow. To enter this competition, answer the question at www.snipca.com/45783…

Email us your tips: letters@computeractive.co.uk TIP OF THE FORTNIGHT Customise YouTube controls in SMPlayer Thanks for recommending SMPlayer (www.snipca.com/45621) in Issue 656’s Cover Feature about free software to replace Windows tools. I also installed the SMTube plug-in (www.smtube.org) to watch YouTube within SMPlayer – and it works a treat. However, SMPlayer’s icons look somewhat outdated, and you don’t need them there while watching a video. To remove them click Options at the top followed by Toolbar, then untick ‘Main toolbar’. You can also get rid of icons in the bar at the bottom of a YouTube video – click Options, Toolbar, then ‘Edit control bar’. In the ‘Current actions’ box you’ll see the options that are represented by icons in the control bar below. To remove one, click to select…

WINDOWS 11 Use keyboard shortcuts in Apple Music app Apple has updated its Music app for Windows 11 so it responds to Microsoft’s media-playing keyboard shortcuts. These include Ctrl+P to play/pause, Ctrl+F/Ctrl+B to play the next/previous song, and F8/F9 to increase and decrease volume. The update also adds lyrics to songs – see them by clicking the speech-bubble icon at the top right. Install the app from www.snipca.com/45864 or search for it on the Microsoft Store. To use it you’ll have to pay for an Apple Music subscription, which costs £10.99 a month after one month’s free trial (www.snipca.com/45863). It’s still a preview version, so is a bit rough around the edges, but it’s a promising alternative to using the outdated iTunes app for Windows. WINDOWS 10 & 11 Add…

Is TypeApp still safe to use? Q A couple of years ago you recommended using TypeApp (https://typeapp.com) to access Outlook and Gmail on phones, and I’ve been using it without problems ever since. But I notice that you didn’t mention it in Issue 644’s Cover Feature ‘Stop using Gmail & Outlook’. So, is TypeApp still safe to use? If not, should I switch to Spark Mail (https://sparkmailapp.com)? Gerrit Vos A TypeApp (pictured below) is still free and is regularly updated by its developers. As such it remains a great alternative way to access your Gmail and Outlook inboxes on your phone and tablet without Google and Microsoft accessing your data. We don’t think Spark Mail offers any specific advantages, so we’d advise you to carry on using TypeApp. If security…

Microsoft is to stop selling its Microsoft-branded mice, keyboards and webcams in favour of Surface-branded accessories that also include detachable keyboards and touchscreen styluses. The company said that existing Microsoft-branded accessories will continue to be sold at existing prices until stock runs out. Surface accessories are more powerful and expensive than Microsoft-branded kit. For example, Microsoft’s Wired Keyboard 600 (www.snipca.com/45890) costs £14.99, while the cheapest Surface keyboard – the Pro Signature – costs £159.99 (www.snipca.com/45892). Similarly, the Microsoft Ocean Plastic mouse is priced £24.99 (www.snipca.com/45893, pictured left), while the Surface Mobile mouse is £35.99 (www.snipca.com/45894, pictured above right). Some Microsoft-branded accessories are listed as out of stock on the UK site (www.snipca.com/45895). These include the Modern Mobile Mouse (£35.99) and the Designer Bluetooth Desktop keyboard (£99.99). It’s not known whether…

GET FREE DIGITAL TRAINING FROM THREE Mobile network Three is offering free digital training to over-75s in its stores on Sunday 14 May. It follows research from the company that claims older people have become “gadget-holics”. Over a quarter (28 per cent) use WhatsApp, while 51 per cent use smart speakers and phone apps. Three spokesperson Craig Miller said the free training will give older people the chance to “brush up on their skills – or learn from scratch”. SEND WORD DOCS TO AMAZON KINDLE SCRIBE Amazon has updated its Kindle Scribe ebook reader (pictured) to let you send Word documents to it, though you’ll need a Microsoft 365 subscription. It also now lets you alter the contrast on PDFs, which Amazon says is one of the most requested features…

Ofcom has been accused of “tacitly allowing” TalkTalk and Virgin Media to overcharge landline-only customers by up to £200 million. Economic consultancy Fideres claimed in a report titled ‘Hello? Is Ofcom there?’ (www.snipca.com/45796) that the regulator allowed the companies to “maintain the same high prices” despite pressurising rival firm BT to reduce its landline fees. An Ofcom investigation in 2017 found that BT’s landline-only customers had been “getting poor value for money compared to those who buy bundles of landline, broadband and/or pay-TV services”. It noted that bills had risen significantly since 2009, while BT’s wholesale costs for providing it had fallen. BT responded by voluntarily cutting line-rental bills by £7 a month for around 900,000 vulnerable landline-only customers. It also capped increases to the rate of inflation, though still…

WATCH OUT FOR… Fake pages when scanning Sky’s QR codes What’s the threat? Sky has warned that scammers are directing viewers to fake sign-in pages when they scan a QR code to perform a task on their TV. These codes make it easier to sign up for a new service or app through Sky Q, Sky Glass or Sky Stream because scanning them with your phone or tablet is much faster than typing a URL with your remote control. However, if you use a code-scanning app controlled by criminals, you’ll be taken to a fake login page and asked for your username, password and bank-account details. How can you stay safe? Sky says you should only use the QR code scanner that’s built into your device’s camera, avoiding third-party apps…

Contact us so we can investigate your case Email: consumeractive@computeractive.co.uk Please include your name, phone number and address. Can Samsung charge me for assessing monitor? LEAD CASE Q I bought a £600 32in Samsung Odyssey G7 PC monitor (pictured) from Amazon in March 2021, which had a 24-month manufacturer’s warranty. In February this year, the monitor became faulty and was sent back to Samsung for what I was told would be a free repair. Then Samsung sent me an invoice, saying I had to pay £60 for an assessment and more for parts and repair. Do I have to pay this? Colin Payne A It depends on what Samsung’s warranty says. If it doesn’t cover free repairs, then Samsung is entitled to charge Colin. But it seems that Samsung itself…

Can anything read Microsoft Money Sunset files? Q I’ve been using Microsoft Money since the late 1990s, and switched to the Sunset version to work with Windows 10. Is there any software that will be able to read these Sunset files for the foreseeable future? Will Gortoa A Your best option might be to export your data at regular intervals so that if you ever need to move away from Microsoft Money you’ll be ready to import it into your new program. You’ll find the Export tool on the File menu, with options for Loose QIF and Strict QIF format. Not all programs will be able to read your Loose QIF data, so we’d recommend exporting both (see screenshot 1). QIF stands for Quicken Interchange Format, and it’s widely supported,…

What does it do? Although smartphones don’t come with the necessary kit, most recent models can be charged wirelessly. With a wireless charger you can stop worrying about finding the right cable for your device, and simply place it on a charging pad or stand. As long as the charger is already connected to a socket, the device will start charging. How does it work? Wireless charging uses a process called magnetic induction. The charger creates a magnetic field around it, while the device that needs charging has conductive material built into it. When the magnetic field comes into contact with the conductive material, an electric current is created, which charges the phone. What are the specs? All modern devices capable of wireless charging are compatible with Qi (pronounced “chee”)…

PC SPEAKERS | £30 from Amazon www.snipca.com/45734 We all want the best audio from the likes of Logitech and Creative, with crystal-clear output and sleek, stylish designs. But not all of us can afford to spend over £100 for a new set of PC speakers, which is where the GXT 611 Wezz speakers come in. These stereo speakers from Dutch tech brand Trust will immediately grab your attention. They don’t look budget, due mainly to the bright RGB lighting that glows from behind the speaker grilles. The LEDs are bright, colourful and immediately eye-catching, but not so garish that they become distracting. Setup is a breeze: simply plug in the USB power connector and 3.5mm jack, and you’re good to go. No software, no downloads, no hassle. The speakers have…

What you need: Ubuntu; minimum 8GB USB stick Time required: Two hours No developer can afford to continue supporting its software forever – not even one with pockets as deep as Microsoft's. That’s why, over time, they reduce and then end support for old products – usually after several years of encouraging users to upgrade. This year, Windows 8.1 reached that milestone. Having launched in October 2013, it enjoyed mainstream support for almost five years, then another five of extended support, which came to an end in January. If you’re still running Windows 8.1 (or Windows 7, for which extended support ended in 2020), nothing much has changed. It won’t refuse to boot and features won’t disappear, but you will become more vulnerable as time goes on. Without regular security…

CHROME Preview Chrome’s new Password Manager Many Chrome users store their passwords in the browser’s built-in Password Manager, rather than a dedicated tool such as LastPass or Bitwarden, mainly for the sake of convenience. But it’s not a very sophisticated option or even easy to access. To remedy this, Google is planning to introduce a redesigned Password Manager in Chrome later this year, which will be better organised and include more features. Most notably, you’ll be able to launch it directly from your desktop without needing to open the browser first. You can preview the new Password Manager now by activating an experiment in Chrome 112 (released in April). To do so, type chrome://flags into the browser’s address bar, press Enter and search for the entry Password Manager New UI.…

MICROSOFT EXCEL Add headers and footers to multiple worksheets You can easily add headers and footers across multiple worksheets, saving you the hassle of doing so individually. First, press the Shift key as you click the worksheets at the bottom (1 in our screenshot). This selects them all. Now click the Page Layout tab at the top and click the small arrow at the bottom right of the Page Setup section 2. In the box that appears click the Header/Footer tab, then either Custom Header or Custom Footer – we chose the former 3. Now write your header/footer in the left, centre and right boxes 4, adding any elements such as page numbers and times by clicking the icons above. MICROSOFT WORD Make pressing Enter move your cursor down only one…

WHAT YOU CAN DO Combine the privacy benefits of Tor with a VPN Clear your cookies and browsing data in one click Stay anonymous with a VPN without paying for a subscription Stop your ISP seeing which websites you visit Search the web without your data being collected Fake your data so sites can’t identify and track you Disable hidden settings that secretly leak your information Threats to our online privacy are constantly evolving. Advertising companies are finding new ways to track us, websites are developing new methods of collecting our data and even our own government wants to spy on us – with concerns that its new Online Safety Bill could “undermine end-to-end encryption” (www.snipca.com/45844). This makes it more difficult than ever to preserve your anonymity as you browse…

1080p High-definition video with 1920x1080 pixels. 2K A screen with 2048x1080 pixels. 32bit/64bit A measure of how much data a PC can process at once. Most older computers are 32bit, more modern ones are 64bit. 3G/4G/5G Technologies that deliver faster mobile broadband. 4K Video with a resolution of at least 3840x2160 pixels. 720p A common resolution of high-definition video: 1280x720 pixels. Accelerometer A sensor that detects movement. Used in smartphones to decide portrait or landscape mode. Airplane mode Phones and tablets in this mode disable all radio communication so they are safe to use on aircraft. Aspect ratio A measurement of the shape of a screen. Traditional PC screens are 4:3. Widescreen displays are 16:9 or 16:10. Augmented reality Lets you view the real world on a screen and add…